The present invention relates to a laser beam waveguide, and also to a laser beam delivery system utilizing such a waveguide for material evaporation, ablation, cutting, welding, etc. The invention is especially useful in surgical laser systems, and is therefore described below with respect to such a system.
The current surgical lasers generally deliver the laser beam, typically of infrared radiation, via an articulated arm assembly which includes joints permitting three-dimensional movements, and mirrors at the joints to direct the laser beam coaxially into the arms in all positions of the arms. Such articulated-arm systems, however, involve high initial and maintenance costs, are very bulky, take up a considerable amount of space, and are awkward to manipulate by the surgeon.
Prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,863, assigned to the same assignee as the present application, discloses a hollow fiber waveguide and method of making the waveguide useful for transmitting high amounts of energy in the infrared region.